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First Look

The 17cm (173mm) Kanone 18 was a German Corps-level artillery piece with excellent firing range. Weighing over 38,000 pounds in firing configuration and over 51,000 pounds in travel configuration, this artillery piece was definitely not a front line asset as it was a chore to set-up, tear-down, and transport.

With a range of over 29 kilometers, the Kanone 18 could put some serious firepower on target. The weapon was produced by Krupp between 1941 and 1945. Many of these guns fell into enemy hands as crews were unable to 'shoot and scoot' due to sheer mass and complexity of the gun system. The crews sometimes had to abandon their guns to avoid capture when advancing allied forces sought to neutralize these weapons.

Trumpeter has released another artillery piece into their impressive and growing product line. This release is also molded in light gray styrene and presented on 13 parts trees, plus a single fret of photo-etched details and a set of rubber tires for the gun and limber. When I first saw this kit, I was surprised with the level of detail in this box, after all, this is one gun, right? Well according to the kit specs, this kit consists of 401 parts.

Assembly starts with the carriage which is extremely detailed given the unique design of this large gun system. You'll need to decide right away whether you want to pose the model in its firing position or in its transport configuration as the model cannot be transformed after assembly. Assembly of the carriage takes up over half the steps in building up this model

The limber is next and sports two large diameter wheels that have the rubber band treads that are also included in the kit.

The 173mm gun goes together with several sections to build up the barrel followed by the recoil and elevation mechanisms.

The carriage has these stowable metal plank walkways to give crews easier access to the gun while it is set up on its baseplate. The detailing in this model is quite nice.

This is another nice offering from Trumpeter and this provides a mostly-styrene option for this subject for those modelers uncomfortable with resin or limited run kits.